BOLZANO: Early starter Josef Ferstl put down a nearly flawless run in a fog-interrupted super-G on Friday to become the first German man to win a World Cup speed event in 13 years. Wearing the No. 2 bib, Ferstl required slightly more than 1 1/2 minutes to negotiate the Saslong course and finished a slim 0.02 seconds ahead of Max Franz of Austria. Olympic downhill champion Matthias Mayer of Austria came third, 0.10 behind, despite a big mistake. The previous German man to win a speed race – downhill or super-G – was Max Rauffer in a downhill on the Saslong in 2004. The race was stopped because of fog after only 38 of 80 racers were able to start their runs.
Published in Daily Times, December 16th 2017.